A multicarrier communication system such as, e.g., Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Discrete Multi-tone (DMT) and the like, is typically characterized by a frequency band associated with a communication channel being divided into a number of smaller sub-bands (subcarriers herein). Communication of information (e.g., data, audio, video, etc.) between stations in a multicarrier communication system is performed by dividing the informational content into multiple pieces (e.g., symbols), and then transmitting the pieces in parallel via a number of the separate subcarriers. When the symbol period transmitted through a subcarrier is longer than a maximum multipath delay in the channel, the effect of intersymbol interference may be significantly reduced.
While multicarrier communication systems hold the promise of high throughput communication channels, technical challenges persist. For example, in certain applications such as, for example a wireless local area network (WLAN) deep fades can occur in the channel that may persist over a significant period of time. Further, due to environmental conditions (e.g., home office, business, etc.), the wireless channels may typically encounter significant dispersion due to multipath propagation that limits the maximum achievable rates.